PsychMind
A calm way to find a therapist, rebuilt from a stalled prototype.
Overview
Designing for someone on a hard day
People look for a therapist at a hard moment. PsychMind connects them with independent providers, and every screen was designed so nobody gets stuck.
- The problem
The founders' developer left, leaving a small prototype and no clear path to launch.
- What we did
We audited what existed, designed about 35 responsive screens, launched the marketing site and started building the full app.
- The result
More than 650 providers across the US are waiting to be featured at launch.
Context
A directory, not a clinic
PsychMind connects people looking for therapy with independent providers. It's a directory and referral platform, so it serves two audiences: people who are often anxious and short on energy, and providers who need a trustworthy place to be found.
The audit of the original prototype found 50 copy issues and whole flows that had never been designed, including availability, payments, admin and notifications. We filled those gaps with research before designing anything new.
- Search by what's on their mind
- Save and compare providers
- Request a session
- Onboarding and verification
- A public profile
- Requests and analytics
50copy issues
- Patient side 21
- Provider side 29
Never designed
- Availability
- Payments
- Admin
- Notifications
Constraints
- Two sides to design for: patients and providers
- Sensitive health information on almost every screen
- A small founding team working milestone by milestone
Key decisions
5 choices that shaped the design
No dead ends
When nothing matches every filter, search loosens the filters, shows the closest providers and explains what each one is missing. An empty results page is the last thing someone should see on a hard day.
Instead of Strict filters and a 'no results' message.
One preference too many: no exact match, so the closest providers appear with what each one misses. Safety is always in reach
The 988 crisis line sits on every patient screen. Accounts are for adults, and a 'Who is this for?' step lets a parent or guardian request care for someone else.
Instead of A crisis link buried in the footer.
Under 18, sign-up stops kindly: a parent or guardian, a counselor, and 988 one tap away. Private by default
No health details in emails, links or analytics. Analytics run on the marketing pages only, never inside the app.
Instead of Standard tracking across the whole product.
Where health details go - Emails
- None
- Links and URLs
- None
- Logs and error reports
- None
- Analytics
- Daily totals only, no cookies
- Ad pixels and session replay
- Not used
Calm motion
The marketing site is expressive and the app is quiet. Smooth scrolling is switched off wherever people fill in forms, and animation is saved for moments worth celebrating, like a profile going live.
Instead of The same motion everywhere.
Trust for providers
A verification wizard for licences and credentials, and a profile editor with a live preview, so providers see exactly what patients will see.
Instead of A plain sign-up form.
Provider onboarding: every field updates the live preview of the public profile.
Screens
More screens
Process
How it was made
The same studio designed every screen and wrote the code behind it, with Claude Code in the loop from research briefs to tested features.
- 1UX audit50 copy issues, 4 missing flows
- 2Figma designAbout 35 responsive templates
- 3Marketing siteLive at psychmind.org
- 4The appIn progress
- Figma
- Next.js
- Postgres
- Stripe
- Vercel
- Claude Code
Catalyst Design Lab
Brenda and Dee
Outcome
More than 650 providers across the US are waiting to be featured at launch.
- 650+providers across the US waiting to be featured
- 35responsive screen templates designed
- 50copy issues found in the audit
PsychMind is still in development, with newsletter sign-ups open while the app is built.